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Unfamiliar tap and die markings.

Hal

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IMG_4311.jpegGot these in an old tap and die set
 

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Hal

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Got these in an old tap and die set. The dies are similarly marked.
What is the significance of the second dimension! IE. 1/32
The tap has a radical taper, but that may be a regrind.
 

RTM

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Stubby1743

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I've never seen a tap marked like that but could the 1/32 be the thread pitch?
 

RoninB4

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-There are over-sized taps. They're used to compensate for coatings, hardening of material, chrome/zinc applications, etc. They're designated with GH numbers from 1-7 in specific intervals of basic size + the oversized amount. The largest I've worked with is GH-7, which is .003-.0035 above basic size. There are supposed to be specially made taps that go above GH-7 but I've never heard of one that's 1/32 larger than basic size. Is it possible? I suppose so as there's always been a market for special taps and thread forms but it's an application I've never run into and question why a coating would need to be that thick.

-Check the thread pitch (threads per inch) to see if it's even a standard for that diameter.
 
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Hal

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I suspected they were oversized they are all standard pitch for the sizes. What puzzles me is that a general repair shop would have a complete set of oversizes. They were in a wooden box, with a die stock, but no tap handle.

Also in the box, completely unrelated, were a set of Budd wheel wrenches, and a badly abused 3/4 drive slide handle.
 

RoninB4

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1/32 would be 32 threads per inch. Marking says 5/8, 1/32, 11. So 5/8x 11. Standard pitch, checked with a gage.
-You still haven't mentioned measuring the OD of the tap to confirm/deny the alleged oversize by 1/32.
 
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Hal

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-You still haven't mentioned measuring the OD of the tap to confirm/deny the alleged oversize by 1/32.
When I posted this, it hadn’t occurred to me to check the OD. I haven’t been back to the shop since. I will check later this morning a and post back.
 

rustyzman

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The profile of that tap looks like a Nut Tap. Long tapered lead in for production tap threading of nuts. Very low torque thread cutting because of that long lead in taper.


1/32 might be the diameter change from full thread depth to the start of the thread on that tap. That looks much too coarse to be a thread pitch for that tap, assuming that it is 5/8 diameter. The pitch looks closer to .100" or 1/10.


Now for some clarity, according to a little research here, that is a Very Old tap.


Wells Brothers & Co. was incorporated in 1879.
That changed to Wells Brothers Co. in 1888.
That tap is older than 1888 and newer than 1879.

That very much pre-dates the Unified Thread system (UNC, UNF, UNS, etc.)

5/8-10 is no longer a standard thread in the Unified Standard. That size and tap was from the days of everyone making whatever they felt was correct for the application.

A quick measurement of the OD at the thickest portion and at the very end will probably say a lot.
 

RTM

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The profile of that tap looks like a Nut Tap. Long tapered lead in for production tap threading of nuts. Very low torque thread cutting because of that long lead in taper.
Winner winner

The 1889 Catalog shows these

1762583739273.png


1762583847896.png
Marking says 5/8, 1/32, 11. So 5/8x 11. Standard pitch,
I thought it said 10 at the top of your photo?

5/8 1/32 10 is what my eyes see.
 

rustyzman

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Interesting with the oversize. That is Seriously over sized at 1/32". I could see that if a nut was meant to be hot dip galvanized, perhaps.
 
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